Who I am with you
by RoseWilliams15
Summary: Sequel to "When dreams come true" Sherlock realizes that he needs Molly Hooper in his life, but only after he has completely betrayed her trust. Will Molly believe him when he tries to prove himself to her? Or will she decided that loving him is not worth the pain? T because I am too paranoid for my own good and also the possibility of some graphic injuries. *I do not own Sherlock*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi there! I highly recommend that you read my other story first, but in case you didn't I left the ending of it down there for you so you can catch up. Enjoy!**

"_I need you Molly Hooper, you can handle me even when I am being horrible to you and are willing to tolerate me on a daily basis when so few others will." _

"_Is this for another case?" _

"_No. I will never do something like that to you again." He stepped into her flat and set the food down on the table by the door. When he stood back up he was nearly nose to nose with her. They both held their positions, neither moving. Finally after what felt like hours, Sherlock leaned forward. Molly thought that he was going to kiss her on the cheek but his lips landed on her mouth in a chaste kiss. Molly's cheeks filled with color as she looked up at him. Perhaps her dream of being with Sherlock could come true after all._

Molly felt the logical side of her brain wake up then. _You can't seriously just forgive him like that. Do you not remember all of the horrible things that he has done to you? _

Molly broke the kiss and pushed Sherlock away from her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Sherlock, I really want to believe you, trust me I do. But right now I just can't. I- I can't deal with this right now. " Sherlock stood there completely motionless.

"I am still going to go to the beach with Mary. When I come back we can work on this but until then, I ask that you please give me my space. Goodnight." Then she handed him the food and pushed him out the door.

Sherlock stared at the closed door for five solid minutes unmoving. Molly stood on the other side doing the same. Neither was aware of the others presence. He finally decided that she was not going to open the door and returned to 221 B and began pacing in front of his chair.

John poked his head in the door five hours later and he hadn't stopped. "Sherlock? You don't have your gun out do you? Mrs. Hudson said you were a little trigger happy last night and I wanted to make sure it was safe for us."

There was no response so John stepped into the room cautiously with Alexis strapped to his chest. Sherlock hadn't broken his stride or even bothered to look up at his best friend. John could tell from the dark circles around his friends eyes that he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and went to the kitchen to make some tea.

It took around fifteen minutes for Sherlock to realize he had company. John was sitting in his chair tickling his daughter. "Oh hello John, how long have you been there?"

"Not long, you seemed to be deep in your mind palace, I didn't want to intrude." Sherlock sat in his chair and steepled his fingers under his chin. "It's Molly isn't it?"

"Obviously."

"Mary told me that you went to see her last night, but not much more than that. What happened?"

"I brought her food, told her how important she is to me and then kissed her. I think I did something wrong thought because she pushed me away and sent me home right away. I understand just about everything, but sentiment makes me look like a fool." John chuckled and Alexis offered up a small giggle. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just funny seeing you confused like this, and by Molly Hooper of all people."

Sherlock shot him the same look that a small child would have if their parent refused to buy them a new toy. This just resulted in more laughter from the Watson's.

Molly was seated next to Mary on a train to Bambugh beach and was currently engrossed in her favorite romance novel.

"You have avoided it long enough Molly. What happened with Sherlock last night?"

Molly set her book on her lap, but remained silent. "Molly Hooper, you better spill or I will have us on the very next train back to London. "

Molly exhaled deeply and reluctantly told her the whole story.

"So he came to your house, kissed you and then you kicked him out?"

Molly nodded. "That's my girl."

Molly bit the inside of her lip. "Oh no, I know that look. You want to give him a chance don't you?" Suddenly the cover of Molly's book seemed more interesting than the conversation she was having.

Mary saw this reaction and decided that it was probably best to just comfort Molly and see where things went from there. "I've never seen him do anything like that to anyone other than you before. That's something isn't it?"

Molly pondered this for a moment. "Do you think he actually wants to court me?"

"It's a definite possibility, but nothing about it will be normal."

"If I'm going to let him to try and do this, I need to make him to convince me that he means business, I mean really prove himself."

"What are you going to do, set up different challenges for him or something?"

"Not exactly. I want to see how this plays out, I will leave it entirely up to him. I want him to show me that he has emotions and can understand that sentiment is not really a chemical defect, but that it is actually an important ingredient in every relationship."

Mary smiled. "Now that's more like the genius Molly that I know and love! I do believe that there are certain qualities that he must show you in order for you fully believe in him."

"Oh yeah? And what will those be then?"

"He needs to be trustworthy, loyal, and willing to make sacrifices for you. If you want this relationship to work, that is the foundation that you need to build it on."

**A/N: I hope this helped explain the story a little bit better. Please follow, favorite and review!~RoseWIlliams15**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again! I am so happy with the response this story has gotten so far. Thank you to anyone who followed, favorited and reviewed! Enjoy chapter 2.**

John and Alexis made frequent stops at Sherlock's flat while Mary was away. Every time they walked in, they found Sherlock deep within his mind palace. This was a common enough occurrence with him so John disregarded it for the first few visits. But Sherlock seemed to be growing more tired and frail then usual with each passing day. His curls were flying in all directions, he was pale, and he hadn't changed his clothes since the day that Molly left.

Three days into the girl's vacation, John finally decided that he needed to do something about Sherlock's state. The best thing to do was to find out what had his best mate so worked up. Sherlock was seated in his chair, looking very much like a statue when John spoke up. "Sherlock?" he said it quietly at first but after a few tries he was practically shouting. Only then did Sherlock reenter reality.

"There's no need to yell John, you'll upset your babything."

John pinched the bridge of his nose. _'You really know how to pick them don't you?'_ he thought.

"Of all the twisted and convoluted cases you've worked on before, I've never seen you worked up like this."

Sherlock nodded in agreement, unbuttoned his shirt sleeve and rolled it up so he could show what lay underneath. John inhaled sharply as he looked down and saw ten nicotine patches on the consulting detective's arm.

"You've got to be kidding me mate, that'll kill you."

"Don't be ridiculous John, I know exactly what I'm doing. I am a graduate chemist."

John shook his head and fell heavily into his chair. "Molly Hooper has turned you absolutely mad."

"Over the last couple days I've been attempting to solve the case of Ms. Hooper. Initially I thought that it was ranked as a five but it has come to my attention that it needs to be adjusted to a solid ten."

John glared at his friend. "Did you just say that Molly was a case? If you ever want to win her over, you have to drop that idea this instant."

Sherlock raised his right eyebrow and cocked his head slightly to the side.

"I had a feeling that you would be rubbish when it came to sentiment but this is just sad."

"What am I supposed to do then? I am not and will never be some ridiculous romantic and I'm sure that Molly knows that."

"Yeah she may know that romance will never be your strong suit but she doesn't know how much you truly need her and care about her." Sherlock looked confused, John wanted more than anything to take a picture and send it to Mary, but thought better of it. "Listen mate, if you really want to be in a relationship you have to show all of that to her."

"I thought that I made it abundantly clear just how I feel the last time that we spoke."

"You may have but you have to prove it to her. Just saying it isn't enough."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I can't tell you that! You have to figure it out on your own. You are the one trying to win her over not me." Sherlock still looked lost. John rolled his eyes. "You have to physically do things like buy her flowers, or hold her when she's upset." Sherlock scrunched up his eyebrows and puckered his mouth.

"I can't wait to see how this turns out." John mumbled to himself as he watched Sherlock disappear into his mind palace, this time with a determined expression.

The beach was magnificent. Well it really wasn't that special, but it was just what Molly needed. She looked up at the sky and even though clouds covered the sun, she could feel the comforting warmth on her face. The grainy sand between her freshly manicured toes felt exactly as it had when she was young, and she couldn't help but smile when memories came flooding back to her. She could see the giant sandcastles that she had built with her father, and could even taste the popsicles that her mother would bring down to them. Sherlock had been right about how much she loved the beach. Her smile faded a bit. _Sherlock,_ she thought. She shook her head, _the whole point of this trip is to get your mind off of him. Get it together Molly! _Just as she finished mentally slapping herself for thinking about the S-word, Mary called her over to where she was sitting. When Molly joined her, Mary was busy staring mischievously at a group of well-built male specimens that were playing football in small swimsuits that left little to the imagination a few metres away. Molly suddenly found herself picturing Sherlock in the same getup.

Mary turned around and saw a faraway look in her friend's eyes, so she passed her hand up and down in front of Molly's face, promptly bringing her out of her fantasy. "Molly Hooper, you did not just picture Sherlock in one of those swimsuits!" Molly's cheeks burned and started to resemble ripe tomatoes.

"I'm sure you pictured John in one of them."

"I most certainly did! He's my husband and that is beside the point." The girls collapsed into a pile of giggles.

When the laughter subsided, Mary decided to take a nap and Molly took out her romance novel and started reading. She had just gotten to a particularly good part (which involved the gorgeous male character taking his shirt off), when Mary cleared her throat anxiously. Molly rolled from her back onto her side and lowered her cheap sunglasses so she could look at her friend. "Should we discuss the elephant on the beach?" Molly raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Well we aren't exactly in a room now are we?" She paused, then began again. "I've been thinking, what do you think it would be like being in a relationship with Sherlock? I mean, I can't imagine it would be much fun."

Molly clenched her jaw, Mary had a point, and it was a pretty good one at that. But then she thought about some of the good things that she had seen him do, like when he kissed her cheek on Christmas after his horrible deductions, or when he told her that he wanted her to be happy. They were small, but they gave her hope. "I've been the victim of his ruthless deductions, but I also know that he has a kind side. I know that he can care and I will live for the moments that he does. If this works it won't be easy, but compared to the other things that I have seen him pull, I'm sure I can handle it."

Mary smiled, but it was clearly forced.

"I really think that he will surprise you."

'_I hope so',_ thought Mary.

**A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review and tell me what you think! Until next time~RoseWilliams15**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi there! I'm a little bit early this week but I figured you wouldn't mind. I hope you enjoy! **

Her vacation was over in the blink of an eye, and before Molly knew it, she was sitting next to Mary on a cab back to her flat. When she arrived out front, she paid her cabbie, hugged Mary and grabbed her luggage. At first glance, everything inside her flat looked normal, and then she realized there was no sign of her furry tabby friend Toby. She looked in all of his favorite hiding places, under her bed, behind the toilet and on top of the fridge. But he was nowhere to be found. Molly retreated to the kitchen and started dialing Sherlock's number on her mobile. Just before she typed the last digit, she lowered the phone to where it had been sitting on the counter, right next to her purse. _'He won't care'_ she thought as she slid into one of her kitchen chairs.

There wasn't much in this world that she cared about more than the great Sherlock Holmes, but if she had to settle on one thing, it would be Toby. He was the first thing he bought when she moved into her flat, and he had been there for her each and every time Sherlock had insulted her. Toby was the only thing that got her through the two years of Sherlock's hiatus. Tears had now made streaks down her face and left little puddles on the counter in front of her. It took ten minutes for her to calm down enough to pick up her mobile and call Mary. She didn't answer, and neither did John. _'I wonder what that means,' _she thought sarcastically to herself. There really wasn't any one else to call, so she decided to go outside and look for Toby alone. After an hour of fruitless searching, Molly decided to go inside and call it a night. By the time that she got back to her flat, it was past eleven o'clock. "Guess I'll have to continue this tomorrow." She sadly said aloud to her empty home.

Sleep was impossible without Toby curled up on the pillow next to her, so Molly decided to get dressed and start on the mountainous stack of paperwork that was sure to be patiently awaiting her arrival.

There were no cabs out at this time of night and Molly was definitely not going to walk alone in the dark, so she took the tube. Molly didn't see anyone on her way into St. Barts other than her favorite security guard. He gave her a quick smile and a hello before returning to his patrol.

Some people would find a silent morgue in the middle of the night would be terrifying, but not Molly Hooper. It was like a sanctuary to her. As soon as she stepped through the doors, she felt calmer. '_I've missed this' _she thought as she unlocked her office door and stepped inside.

Sherlock burst into the morgue and found Molly elbow deep in a corpse. She looked awful, there were dark circles under her eyes, her hair was in a loose ponytail and flying all about her face and her nose was slightly red, as if she had been crying.

When she looked up and saw him standing there taking in her ghastly appearance, her cheeks went bright red and she turned around and quickly disappeared into her office. Sherlock barely noticed because he had slipped into his mind palace and slipped into a the room labeled "Molly". He searched through his most recent memories of her and found that he was not the cause of her distress. With this new information, he moved on to the rest of his observations. Molly's clothes had been lacking their usual thin layer of red cat hair, which meant that she hadn't pet her cat since she had been home. But that couldn't be the truth because she felt very strong sentiment for the feline, so if she had been gone for a week, he would have been the first thing that drew her attention. That only left one possible reason why she was so upset, Toby was missing. He exited his mind palace and sent a text to John.

_Molly's cat is missing. Would that fall into the category of problems I need to deal with while in a relationship?~SH_

John texted back immediately.

_Of course it is you git! Stop wasting time and find that cat. ~JW_

Long days were common in Molly's profession, but that day felt like the longest she had ever lived. The paperwork alone had been a nightmare, but when you added the heavy flow of bodies to the mix, it was a disaster. By the time her shift was over, Molly had hit the wall. She wanted nothing more than to get a shower, change into her pyjamas and fall into bed. Her fantasy was crushed when it occurred to her that Toby was still missing and she needed to put up missing posters with his picture up on her block.

She didn't have the energy to walk so she caught a cab. The cabbie had to shout at her multiple times to wake her up when he had arrived at her flat. She had blushed and paid him, before quickly running up the steps to her door. Just as she reached for the knob, the door swung open to reveal none other than Sherlock Holmes himself, with a sleeping Toby in his arms. Molly stood there in awe, how did Sherlock know he was missing? And more importantly, why had he gone to find him?

"Hello Molly."

"Where did you find him?" she asked, ignoring the detective's greeting.

"He was curled up under a street lamp several streets from here."

Molly was so happy at that moment that she couldn't help herself, the next thing she knew she had her arms wrapped around Sherlock. Toby squirmed out from between them and ran into the flat. Suddenly Molly realized what she was doing and stepped back awkwardly, face shining a more brilliant red than she would have ever thought possible.

"Um… Thank you for finding him. I've been a bit of a mess since he's been gone."

Sherlock stood there with his hands behind his back observing her. He was clearly thinking about what to say in response to her but decided to leave it unsaid. Instead he adjusted the collar of his coat and made for the door. He was just about to open it when he turned around and looked her straight in the eye. "You're welcome Molly Hooper." And then he was gone.

**A/N: Way to go Sherlock! Now we are getting somewhere! Please follow, favorite and review! Until next time! ~RoseWillams15**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm feeling generous today, so here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Molly stood staring at her now closed front door. Had she really just seen what she thought she saw? Sherlock Holmes helped her, all on his own, there was just no way. _'John must have had something to do with this.'_

Mary picked up her phone after just two rings. "Hi Molly. How are you today?"

"I'm fine. You will never believe what Sherlock just did."

Mary's tone turned serious. "I swear, if he hurt you again, I'll kill him."

"No no, there is no need for that. He actually did something, well ,something sweet."

"You're kidding me right? We are talking about William Sherlock Scott Holmes correct?"

"The very same. What other Sherlock would I be talking about?"

"What did he do?"

"Well, Toby was missing when I came home yesterday. You would have known that already if you weren't, uh, busy when I tried to call."

A mischievous smile evident in her voice. "Proceed." She said.

"Anyway," Molly said, rolling her eyes. "I didn't really tell anyone and couldn't sleep without him, so I went into Bart's to catch up on some paper work. Sherlock came in several hours later and started deducing me. I couldn't take it, and ended up running into my office. When I came out around ten minutes later, he was gone." Molly paused to take a breath.

"This isn't sounding terribly sweet. "

"You have to let me finish! When I came home from work, he was there, holding Toby."

"So you're telling me that he found your cat?"

"Pretty sure that's what I just said."

"That's not very like him is it?"

"Not really, that is actually why I called. I wanted to see if John may have had anything to do with it."

"Let me ask him, hang on." Molly could hear the phone being set down and the rumble of a distant conversation on the other end. A minute later, Mary returned. "John said that Sherlock texted him about Toby, asking whether or not it would be a good idea for him to try and look for him. John said that it would be in his best interest, but that was about it."

Molly was taken aback by this, she had fully expected John to be more involved. "Well that's… different."

"This is important, think about it Molly, he did that all on his own. That means that you can trust him to take care of other important things. I think this is a step in the right direction." Molly smiled even though she knew her friend couldn't see her. '_God I hope she's right.'_

Molly wasn't really sure what she expected when she went to work the next day. For some reason, she had gotten it in her head that things were going to be different between her and Sherlock after what he had done with Toby. This of course was not the case.

Sherlock came in like he usually did, sat at her microscope and left without saying a word. When the doors closed behind him Molly looked over to the vacated work area and the tips of her ears went red with anger. There were slides all over the table and the light was still on inside the microscope. With a sigh, she made her way over to clean up the mess. '_Some things never change,' _she thought.

Something on the slides was sticky, and it took much longer than it should have to clean up. By the fifth one she was ready to throw the rest out the window. This is when her eyes landed on the small piece of paper that was sitting next to the micro-scope.

_Meet me at Angelo's on your lunch break, I need food and would enjoy your company.~SH_

A smile crept onto her face as Molly read the note, but quickly disappeared when her brain's logical side decided to join the conversation. '_He hasn't actually spoken to you all day, he left you a giant mess, and now you're just going to skip of to lunch with him like nothing happened? You deserve so much more than that.' _The love sick puppy side joined in now. '_Hold on a minute. He may have done all of that, but he also invited you to lunch. Would he have done that before?' _The internal struggle continued. '_Of course he would have done it before, if he needed something from you.' _Molly cringed at her own thoughts. _If he needed something that badly he would asked before he left. Just go will you? _

And with that Molly hung her lab coat on the rack in her office grabbed her purse. 

Lunch with Sherlock was nice but nowhere near Molly's idea of a perfect date. Through the majority of it Molly sat and listened as Sherlock explained how he had solved his latest case. As he went on and on about the tiny details that had lead him to the killer, Molly started picturing a similar conversation occurring around a dining room table, their dining room table. A smile spread across her lips. Sherlock paused and looked at her with curiosity.

"What is so intriguing? I know it's not my recent success because you haven't been listening to me for the past five minutes." Molly flushed, she had been caught red handed and didn't have the time to come up with a proper response. An awkward silence wrapped around them like a thick jumper on a hot day. Molly looked down at her spaghetti and could still feel his eyes on her. They stayed like this until it was time for her to get back to the morgue. When she stood to leave, he stood as well and helped her into her coat. He cleared his throat and she looked up into his deep and mysterious blue eyes. She smiled awkwardly and made for the door. Just before she passed through the threshold he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Can we um, can we do this again?" Molly had to fight to keep her mouth from falling wide open. Had Sherlock Holmes just stammered? She quickly got a hold of herself. "Yes, I would like that." He let go of her arm and watched silently as she walked to the curb and caught a cab.

After she had told the cabbie that she wanted to be dropped at Bart's, she sat back in the seat. Sherlock had just struggled to come up with a simple sentence, when talking to her. Maybe some things do change.

**A/N: I quite like Sherlock being awkward. It makes him seem a bit more human. I am busy trying to finish writing this story, but have a raging case of writer's block. Also to top it off, I have had a rough couple of days. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much! Until next time. ~RoseWilliams15**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am so excited for this chapter! I really hope you enjoy it because I loved writing it. **

The door to the morgue slammed open and in walked Sherlock, followed closely by the always loyal John Watson. The duo was met with the unwelcome sight of Dr. Peters leaning over a corpse where another, shorter, brown haired pathologist should have been. Sherlock groaned loudly, causing the doctor to look up from his work. "What do you need Mr. Holmes?"

"Where is my pathologist?" John's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

"She called in sick. Now tell me what you need, or else I will have to ask you to leave."

Sherlock adjusted his collar and proceeded to walk out of the room. John nodded at the doctor and ran to catch up. "Where are you going?" He asked as he grabbed Sherlock by the arm.

"Scotland Yard, I would like to take another look at the evidence Lestrade has collected."

"No you aren't"

Sherlock looked at his friend and furrowed his brows.

"Don't be ridiculous John. Where else would I go? I'm right in the middle of a case."

John squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Your girlfriend, if you could call her that, is home sick. You are going to go and take care of her."

A pout formed on Sherlock's lips. "But the case John."

"Is only a four, and boring. Those are your own words."

"She is a grown woman, I'm sure she is capable of taking care of herself."

John was now rubbing his temples.

"Here is a bit of advice mate. Go to her now, it's no good if you are with her when she doesn't need you but aren't when she does."

Before John could stop him, he had hailed a cab. Just before the door closed, John could hear Sherlock giving the cabbie the address of a nearby pharmacy.

*cough cough* *sniffle*

Molly was laying on her couch in cotton pyjama bottoms, a large t-shirt, and a pink dressing gown. She was feverish, so she was also wrapped in several blankets. Her nose was red from the use of too many tissues and her hair was hanging loosely about her face in what was left of a ponytail. She hadn't been this sick and years and she really wished that she had someone to come and take care of her. There had been a moment, just after she woke up that morning, when she had thought about calling Sherlock. He may have been able to make her soup and bring her tissues, but he could at least sit with her. He owed her at least that much. No one wants to be all alone when they are sick. That was when her phone pinged with a text message.

_Got a case from Gavin, might need access to the lab. ~SH_

Molly sighed, _Well, that settles that then. He would never come over and sit with me if he had a case. _

Deep even breathing could be heard from Molly's couch when Sherlock picked her lock and walked inside the flat. He dropped what he had brought onto the kitchen table, then made his way over to her slowly and silently, so that he wouldn't wake her. When his eyes landed on her sleeping form he felt a strange feeling in his stomach. It wasn't really a bad feeling, so much as one that he couldn't ever recollect feeling before. He grimaced, this must be a sign of sentiment. Molly stirred and Sherlock decided to ask John about this new feeling later.

"Sherlock?" Molly questioned in a voice that was thick with sleep.

He found this amusing, and felt his lips spread into a small smile.

"Hello Molly."

She smiled back at him, but it quickly disappeared from her face. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on a case?"

"I'm," He paused, pondering what to say next. "John said this what men do when their, um women are sick."

Molly's smile returned as she thought to herself, _He may not fully understand what he's doing, but at least he's doing it._

"Did you bring anything with you? That's also something men typically do."

"Oh, yes." Sherlock walked into the kitchen and grabbed the bag that he had bought at the pharmacy and brought it back to Molly. Inside was a bag of throat lozenges, tissues, some chocolate and a magazine with some celebrity on the front. Molly raised her eyebrow, this was much different from what she had expected he would bring her.

"I don't get sick frequently but whenever Mrs. Hudson does this is what she asks for.

Molly giggled a little at the thought of Sherlock walking through a shop buying sick things for his little old landlady. He was standing in front of her with his hands behind his back waiting for her approval.

"Thank you Sherlock, really. This is exactly what I needed."

She saw his shoulders lower as he visibly relaxed. He still looked unsure of what to do next so Molly spoke up. "You can stay here for a bit if you want, I'm not highly contagious and wouldn't mind some company.

In way of response, Sherlock sat down on the couch next to her, close enough that their legs rubbed against each other slightly. Molly couldn't tell if he had done this deliberately or if that was just how he happened to land, but it was nice. For some reason, his closeness made her start to feel a little better. It was still slightly awkward for her because she wasn't entirely sure where she stood with him, where they dating? Or were they just headed in that direction.

To break the silence that had built itself around them Molly decided to start the conversation. "Want to watch some telly? I started recording that show that you seemed to like when you used to…" She trailed off as she remembered just why he hadn't been over to catch up on the show.

"When I was coming over here wrongfully attempting to convince you we were dating for a case?"

Molly brought her knees up to her chest and slide away from Sherlock so she was no longer touching him. Bringing that up had clearly been a mistake. Sherlock was watching her intently, it was obvious that the topic still caused her serious discomfort, she was still upset with what he had done. He instinctively reached over and reached for her hands. At first she pulled away from him, but after a second, let him take them in his. "Molly," he said gently, causing her to look up from the floor. "I made a complete arse out of myself when I decided to do that to you. I am truly sorry, I know how much pain it caused you. But through my mistake I realized that I need you, not just for your lab or when I need you to pull out a body for me, but just to be with. I am not a nice man, but you don't care. I've hurt you so many times, and yet you still never hesitate to help me when I need something. You bring out a side of me that I have never seen before, you keep me from saying harmful things and can handle my ramblings. Who I am with you is much better then who I am without you. You bring out the part of me that is truly human, and it doesn't irritate me even the slightest bit because I know that you won't abuse it. I know that I'm not an easy man to be with, but I would like to see what happens when we spend more time together."

Molly was staring at him completely gobsmacked, her eyes were full of tears but she couldn't tell if it was from shock or happiness. On cue, her logical thought process busted into her head. _That is nice and all but it is a bit to sentimental for him. It's not likely that he truly means that, he's probably just trying to convince you to come into the morgue because Peters won't work with him. _Molly sighed internally, she hated that voice but it had been right. Sherlock had only ever talked to her like that when he was about to fake his own death and when he was trying to thank her when he came back.

Sherlock was staring at her, with his emotional shield back in place, afraid of what her response to him would be. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, her eyes were tearing up but she appeared to be having some sort of internal struggle. After what felt like hours, she finally spoke.

"That couldn't have been easy for you, telling me all of those things. Thank you for putting them out there." Sherlock's faced brightened, that was better than he had expected it to be. "But, I, like you, am a scientist, and I need evidence to back up that information. You are improving every day, and I am so proud of you. But I need to know for sure this is what you want, that you won't leave me out in the cold when you get bored of me." Sherlock clenched his jaw, this was more like what he was expecting. Silence fell again as both parties were lost in their own thoughts, the only noise was Molly's coughing.

Roughly an hour later Molly fell asleep on her side of the couch, her snoring drew Sherlock out of his mind palace. Even though what she had said confused him, he enjoyed watching her sleep. Her couch wasn't the best place for her to spend the rest of the night, so he decided to pick her up and bring her to her bed. He didn't want to overstay his welcome, so he left a note on her bedside table and quietly left her flat.

Molly's alarm went off and sat up to turn it off. She felt much better than she had yesterday and decided that she could go to work today. Sitting next to her alarm clock was a note was written in a familiar scrawl.

_Sleep well Molly. I will find a way to show you what I said is true. ~SH_

**A/N: So there you have it. Sherlock really does care. I hope that wasn't too out of character. Please follow favorite and review! Until next time! ~RoseWilliams15**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello everyone! I have a super long one for you this time around. I hope you enjoy!**

Even though Molly was skeptical about Sherlock's uncharacteristic sentimental words, she felt much more relaxed and confident around him. It had gotten to the point where she had almost completely stopped stammering when he spoke to her. She still blushed every now and then, but even that only materialized when he said something in the way of a true compliment. He was actually trying and that meant more to her than anything.

The two began spending a lot of time together, but as was to be expected, it was not normal by any sense of the word. Molly would go over to 221B and help Sherlock complete experiments and in turn he would come over to her flat and they would watch crap telly together. For whatever reason, what they were doing felt right.

Sherlock and John had just solved a nine and were sharing a cab back to was a light heartened feeling surrounding the pair.

"Sherlock, did you know that tomorrow is Molly's birthday?"

He was looking lazily out the window. "Of course."

"Are you going to get her anything?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because that's what normal people do."

"I am far from normal John."

John let out an exasperated sign and pinched the bridge of his nose. _He can be such a child! _"Just get her something. It's not that hard. Your relationship is far from average, your gift should reflect that. It should be something that only she would appreciate."

John paused for a minute, he didn't hear a response from his friend, so he turned to face him. Sherlock's fingers were steepled and his eyes were closed. "That bloody git better've been listening."

John had to drag Sherlock into Bakerstreet. For such a thing looking man, he was quite heavy. By the time he reached the top of the stairs, he was completely out of breath and his face was dripping with sweat. He could hear Mrs. Hudson downstairs laughing at him.

It was obvious that Sherlock wasn't going to resurface anytime soon, so John just set him in his chair and left.

In his mind palace, Sherlock was walking around the room labeled "Molly" rapidly. He was looking through drawers and anywhere else he could think of, trying to find anything that would help him figure out a suitable present for Molly. He was making a mess of the place, throwing papers and various other objects this way and that about the room repeatedly yelling "Wrong, wrong, WRONG!"

He finally found what he was looking for in a small box at the corner of the room. He promptly exited his mind palace and checked the time on his phone. It was now 11pm on Molly's birthday.

Molly woke up to fifteen "Happy Birthday" messages. All of them coming from John, Mary and her coworkers at Bart's, but of course, nothing from Sherlock.

_It's still early, maybe he is on a case, or still asleep." _

For the rest of the day, anytime that her phone went off with a text notification, she would drop everything to check and see who it was from. She even stopped in the middle of an autopsy to see a text that ended up being from her Aunt that lived in Scotland, who hadn't spoken to her in years. _You have got to be kidding me! If she can text me, so can you! _

The rest of her time at work flew by in a blur. She ordered take-out for dinner and spent the rest of her evening on the couch watching her favorite movie with Toby on her lap. After she was done there, she went upstairs and hopped into bed. _There will be other birthdays Molly._ She thought to herself as she checked her phone one last time before setting it down and reaching for her light. The very second that it clicked off, there was an urgent knock on her door. Her heart pounded in her chest, it was nearly midnight. Who would come round at this hour? She grabbed he cricket bat and went to go answer it.

Standing on the other side of the door was Sherlock Holmes, with both hands behind his back and a mischievous look in his eyes. Molly let out a sigh of relief, than felt anger flash threw her. He even wished her a happy birthday, and here he was, on her doorstep in the dead of night.

"What do you want Sherlock?"

"Here." He said as he put a skull, wrapped in a red bow into her hands.

"What is this?"

"Your birthday present, obviously."

"A skull?"

"Yes, I have seen you looking at mine when you are at Bakerstreet. You find it interesting. I thought that you might like one of your own."

Molly stared at him for a minute. She had just been given the strangest gift in the world, and it was perfect for her.

Sherlock had now furrowed his brows in confusion, he thought that he had brought her the perfect gift. Why wasn't she happy? His thoughts were extinguished quickly when she reached up and put her arms around his neck, pulling him into strong embrace.

"Thank you Sherlock, it's amazing!"

Sherlock's lips spread into one of his rare smiles. "You're welcome Molly Hooper."

The quietness of the morgue allowed Molly a fair amount of time to think and for once, she actually felt good about where her relationship was headed. Sherlock still had a long ways to go before he would have a proper understanding of the emotions that he was feeling towards her, but with each passing day, he seemed to be becoming more and more at ease with her.

Once again, Sherlock burst into the door, slamming her from her thoughts, and brought a smile to her face.

"Hello Sherlock! What are you doing here? I haven't gotten any new bodies today." He didn't say anything so she moved on. "I may have some extra toes in the fridge if that's what you're looking for."

A hint of the smile she loved so much played on his lips.

"As tempting as that sounds, I'm actually here for you Molly."

"Oh, is John busy? If you need my help on a case I get off in an hour and we can go then."

"No, you are off of work now and you're coming with me, I have something that I want to show you."

Molly felt butterflies in her stomach, the ones that she felt whenever Sherlock did something that could be considered romantic. Her face fell soon after though, when she realized that she couldn't afford to take any more time off right now. She exhaled deeply, hating herself for having to turn down Sherlock's offer. "I would love to Sherlock, but it's not the best time right now. It's not that easy and Mike wouldn't be terribly happy with me if I missed anymore work. And besides, I have a ton of lab reports that need to be completed by the end of the day."

Sherlock grabbed her lab coat off of her shoulders and started walking to her office to put it away. "Mycroft has taken care of Mike, and Peters will complete all of your paperwork." Molly stood there with her mouth slightly ajar. He never ceased to amaze her.

He came back into the morgue a minute later with her coat and purse, and gently grabbed her and lead the way out the door.

As Sherlock was dragging her down the street, Molly was hit with the brutal case of déjà vu. She saw him taking her to the restraint, and her hiding her face in his coat. A cold fist clenched around her stomach. She had been so stupid then, believing that he would just randomly going to show his feelings to her. Even with everything that he had done for her recently, she still wasn't one hundred percent sure she could trust him with her heart. As this struck her, she slowed down her pace, causing Sherlock to stop, let go over her arm, and turn to face her.

"Something is upsetting you."

Molly huddled down lower in the raised collar of her coat, trying to get out from under his petrifying gaze.

"It's nothing, let's keep going."

Sherlock's right eyebrow slowly moved up towards his forehead as he tried to deduce what was going on. She was shying away from her and trying to make herself as small as possible, indicating that he was the cause of her distress. Also, the way that she was looking around the street frantically, showed that their current location had something to do with it as well. Suddenly all of the elements clicked together in his mind and he understood what was making Molly so uncomfortable.

"Walking this way makes you think of last time."

Molly nodded, but remained silent.

Sherlock knit his eyebrows together in concentration. He knew that he needed to say something to her right now but had no idea what. Molly looked at him and could tell that he was struggling to figure out what to say to her. _There is no way that he would have done this a few months ago when this whole charade started, he is making baby steps. That's really what you wanted wasn't it? _She caught him off guard when she walked up to him and took his hand. At first he looked down at her hand as if it were an alien, but then he decided that this meant that she had gotten over what was bugging her, and just rolled with it.

He ended up taking her to a body exhibit, one of those ones that traveled all over the world. Most normal people would have found it revolting, but Molly felt completely in her element.

The duo spent hours walking around and checking out all of the bodies. Molly would figure out their causes of death and Sherlock would deduce every small detail about their entire existence. It was more fun than Molly would have ever thought possible while being with Sherlock. They had found something that both of them thoroughly enjoyed, it was almost too good to be true. At this point Molly no longer cared. There was no doubt in her mind that Sherlock could and would make a reasonable husband someday. With this in mind she hooked her arm through his and spent the rest of their adventure in absolute bliss.

The following day, Molly and Sherlock were sitting side by side in the morgue looking over a body. They were just close enough that to anyone that walked in it would appear as if nothing was out of the ordinary, but not too far that they felt the need to move closer. A sound of jubilation came from the hallway just outside of the morgue and both Sherlock and Molly looked up from their analysis. In through the door came an EMT and a gurney with a black body bag and a very happy looking DI Lestrade, followed by an equally as ecstatic Sally Donovan.

"Good afternoon Greg, Sally." Molly said with a smile. "What's with all the excitement?"

Lestrade grinned as though he had just won the lottery. "We finally caught that cop hating bastard Jason Adams."

Molly raised an eyebrow. "Is that the guy who shot all of those cops and then set of a bomb in a precinct several kilometers away?"

"The very same, we couldn't find the evidence to put him away then but it looks like he has saved us the trouble." Greg pointed out as Molly opened the bag and found the bullet wound on the right side of the man's head.

"You would have actually caught him if you had let me help." Grumbled Sherlock from the body that Molly had abandoned, everyone in the room ignored his complaints. With a load _humph_, Sherlock made his way over to see what all of the fuss was about.

"I'm really happy for you Greg, why don't you go and celebrate? I'll take care of him."

"That's a brilliant idea! We'll be at the pub if you want to stop by when you are done with this one. Come on Donovan, first round's on me." With another smile, the detective lead Sally out the door and into the hallway.

"This is amazing, having that man out on the streets made me nervous for all of our cops. Thank goodness they are safe now."

"Stop talking now Molly, I'm trying to think."

Molly shot him a glare that could cut through glass. Normally if she looked at him like that he would apologize immediately and kiss her on the cheek, but this time, he didn't even turn and make eye contact with her. There must be something seriously wrong going on right now for him to resort back to treating her like that. Right?

Sherlock then started to state his thought out loud, almost forgetting that Molly was standing next to him. "Why would he shoot himself now? He committed those murders months ago."

"Maybe the effects are just now getting to him. Sometimes it takes a while for those things to catch up with you. Especially when you are as messed up as he was."

"Do be serious Molly, he is not the type that would take his own life. He had bigger plans, he was not going to go out having just taken the lives of a few cops, it's not enough."

"Sherlock."

Sherlock's fingers were now steepled underneath his chin and he was pacing back and forth in front of the still mostly closed body bag. Molly took this opportunity to start zipping it down the rest of the way. When she got to just below the rib cage, the zipper appeared to have gotten stuck.

"These bloody bags! I swear, the zippers break everyday."

Sherlock's mind was racing, this situation was wrong, but what so wrong about it. He killed before, but he was planning on taking more lives, on a larger scale. That was clear from how he went to a shooting to a full out bombing. Wait bombing, if it worked once, it was likely to work again.

"Molly stop!" Sherlock shouted as he pushed Molly to the floor. She was moving with such force that she actually skidded through the double doors that connected to the outside hallway. "Sherlock…" Was all she had to time to get out before a blinding explosion rocked the morgue, shaking the entire building and blowing her even further down the hall. She remembered deftly shouting Sherlock's name before the world around her cascaded into darkness.

**A/N: Cliff hanger! Sorry about that. I wanted to give a quick shout-out to rebka18 on tumblr. Thatnk you for your amazing drawings and letting me use your idea of Sherlock giving Molly a skull. Reviews make my day so please take a second and leave one! Until next time. ~RoseWilliams15**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: We have finally made it to the end. I hope you enjoy!**

Molly's eyes flew open, she was met with bright lights passing by her at a rapid pace. Upon looking around she saw that she was on a gurney that was being pushed quickly down the hospital hallway by several nurses. She had an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth and it sounded as if she were under water. _Sherlock,_ she thought frantically,_ where is Sherlock?_ She started to panic and began shaking back and forth. The nurse's took notice and attempted to calm her down, which only made her fight harder. Eventually one of the nurses produced a syringe, and plunged it into the IV tubing coming out of her arm and in seconds she was sent back into darkness.

She woke again in a room that was surrounded by glass walls. A faint hum machinery could be heard in the background. Seated on a chair next to her was Mary Watson. When Molly opened her eyes Mary sat up straight and reached for her hands. It hadn't occurred to her that her hearing had returned until she realized that she could understand what her friend was saying to her.

"How are you feeling sweetie?"

"Where is Sherlock?"

Mary's face paled, and she didn't respond. Molly could feel panic rising insider her again. "Mary, where is Sherlock?"

Mary inhaled deeply, than let the breath out very slowly. "He was hit hard by the explosion."

"What happened to him?"

"H-he was thrown against the wall, he fractured multiple vertebrae, his head hit the tile when he came down from the wall, there is possibly bleeding in his brain, and he has a collapsed lung."

"Is he… Is he going to be alright?" Molly had tears streaming down her face now.

"They aren't sure, he is in pretty rough shape." Mary stood and wrapped Molly in a warm hug.

"Can I see him?"

"You have to be discharged first and they are only letting family in but I'm sure I can convince Mycroft to make it happen."

"Thank you."

Within the next hour Molly was allowed to leave. When she had changed back into her regular clothes, she walked up to the ICU. No one bothered to look at her as she made her way there. _Thank you Mycroft, _she thought as she moved towards Sherlock's room. When she reached it she looked through the glass and saw him lying there and her eyes filled with tears once more. He had a red tint to his skin, his face was charred, his eyebrows were gone, he had a tube down his throat that was breathing for him, his chest was bare and he had another large tube sticking out of his side, and his eyes were closed. Part of his head was shaved and the rest of his normally curly hair was burnt to a crisp. She took a deep breath and walked inside. She sat down in a chair next to his bed and gently grabbed his hand, which was just about the only part of him that was still intact. It was cold and pale but it was still Sherlock, and that's what mattered.

"Oh Sherlock." She whispered as though he could hear her. "You saved me." She paused for a minute and let a few tears fall from her eyes. "I guess we are even now then." She smiled in spite of herself. "You've come a long way you know that? You used to say such horrible things, make me feel so self-conscious. Now I wake up every day knowing that I get to spend time with you. And that's truly amazing." She looked down at his hand, trying to find the strength to keep talking. "Please wake up, just please." She rested her head on his bed and fell asleep. Within minutes she was dreaming about walking along the beach, hand in hand with Sherlock.

She woke up some time later, it was hard to tell just how long it had been because time in the ICU was unlike that of anything else. Sherlock looked very much the same but that wasn't much of a surprise. The only difference was that the tube was gone from his throat and he was breathing on his own now. She didn't want to leave him, but she really needed some food, she hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. She stood to leave and turned to plant a kiss on his forehead. Just as she her lips were about to touch his head, his face moved and she ended up kissing his lips. She jumped back in shock. "Sherlock?"

"Hello Molly." His voice was scratchy and weak but still deep and beautiful. She leaned in close to grab him in a strong embrace. "Ow, easy."

"Oh, sorry. Should I call a nurse?"

"No, they are all morons."

"How,"

Sherlock interrupted her. "I woke up several hours ago."

"But, you hit your head, they said that there was possibly some bleeding. They weren't sure you were going to make it."

"I told you, morons."

Molly smiled, than froze. "Just how long have you been awake?"

Sherlock smirked. "Long enough."

Molly took a step back, blushing, her face was redder then it had ever been before. She wanted to run out of the room but it felt like her feet were nailed to the floor. _He wasn't supposed to hear any of that. _Sherlock looked at her calmly. After a minute, the spell that seemed to have taken over her passed and she made her way to the door. She was just about to turn down the corridor when she heard a faint voice calling after her. "Molly," She moved back into the room, new tears forming in her eyes. She looked around the room, not wanting to make eye contact with him. After a minute of agonizing silence, he motioned for her to sit down in the chair that she had just vacated.

He tried to sit up, but she made him lie back down, afraid that he was going to hurt himself. He shifted a little on the bed and then spoke. "We aren't equal."

She looked up to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry, what?"

"We aren't equal. You have saved my life more than once."

"I don't recall…"

Sherlock interrupted her, "When Mary shot me last year, I dove into my mind palace. You were the first person I saw and you told me how to survive." Molly didn't say a word, she was too busy trying to process what he was telling her. "I was surprised at first that I didn't see John, then it occurred to me that you were the one that I wanted to save me."

"I-I didn't know that."

"I know. Before I started spending time without you I never understood why that was that important. It was my brain telling me how important you were and always will be to me."

"I…I" Molly still couldn't look at him. Her eyes were trained on the floor. She didn't even raise her head to speak. Finally she steeled herself, took a deep breath and looked up. "I really don't think so. Now you need to get some rest. I'll stop by tomorrow." Her eyes fell again to her shoes as she gathered herself to leave again. There was a rustling of bed clothes and then she felt cold, delicate fingers under her chin that lifted her face up in the direction of Sherlock's face.

"Stay." She tried to pull away, but he held on. A look of what could only be described as sadness flickered across his face then disappeared. "Please."

She continued to look into his deep blue eyes. _If you have ever loved this man, you need to stay by his side, _her love sick sub-conscious interjected in to the whirlwind that was currently occupying her mind. She waited patiently for her logical side to step in, but it never came. _He sacrificed himself for you. He could have died, but he didn't care, because it would mean that you were still breathing. If that doesn't count as proving himself to you, I don't know what will. _

Molly stood, but instead of heading to the door, she leaned over him in his bed, took his head in her hands and planted her lips on his. His lips were cool, and perfect. The problem was, they weren't moving, he seemed to not want to engage. She started to have a niggling feeling of regret for starting something he was not ready for. She started to pull back from him, when she felt him loosen his lips and wrap his arms around her neck bringing her closer, deepening the kiss. He moved over in the bed creating room for her. She exhaled and slid into the bed next to him, all without taking her lips from his.

John and Mary made their way up to visit Sherlock hand in hand when they found him lying side by side with Molly fast asleep. "It's about bloody time!" They said simultaneously as they turned and walked out of the hospital.

"_Who I am with you, is who I really want to be. You're so good for me. And when I'm holding you, it feels like I've got the world in my hands. Yeah, a better man is who I am with you."_

**A/N: And there you have it, Sherlock and Molly finally got together. I really hope that you liked this story, I enjoyed writing it. If you have any ideas for other stories I should write, or just want to tell me how you feel about this story, please leave a review. I am planning on writing a third installment of this story so stay tuned for that. One last thing, this story is named after the song "Who I am with you" by Chris Young (which I do not own). Until next time ~RoseWilliams15**


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